Forum:22: Rescue Ops
The group followed the guidance of Adama and Yuri to find the home of Lord Simo Svanen, a notable drow leader suspected to be responsible for the abduction of Agents Lexington and Waters. Adama provided what information he could to the group concerning the defences and personnel on hand at the lord's "dacha", but in exchange requested that the group kill Lord Svanen and deliver his head to Yuri, so that the Haka could demonstrate their power to the rest of drow society. Though the group was leery about this request, they were sufficiently convinced of the Haka's cause and the villainy of their opponent to agree to the grisly mission. On arriving in the farming village of Kotlovo, they found that the area was abandoned and the homes pillaged of usable tools and goods. There were no readily apparent signs of battle, but a few small symbols such as bullet holes or casings indicated that there was some sort of altercation, and modern firearms were present. The group took this into consideration when heading for the dacha, and on arrival, were ushered into the bunker-like vacation home by Yuri, who made it apparent that he was increasingly annoyed at their presence. The group began to infiltrate slowly, but then realized that they were not the only intruders as they came upon dead guards and staff. It was apparent that Agent Waters had beaten them to the dacha, but not by much, and cut a bloody swath through the halls, gunning and cutting down drow between her and her destination. The group ended up finding her inside of a hidden passageway in the wall, where she had sustained only minor injuries and claimed that the people in the dacha had escaped down a hidden passageway that she was not able to find on her own. The group used magical assistance to locate the new passage, but an unusually erratic Waters told the group that she was going to find another way in. Ten Tongues followed her as far as a grate leading to some sort of underground water pipe, but went no further. The group also heard from Lord Svanen as they proceeded apace, who had commandeered Lexington's earpiece and informed the group that he would be let go in exchange for four other "guests", preferably the "psychopath" responsible for the killing of his men among them. The group ended up using the passage to take some would-be ambushers by complete surprise, and found the treasure trove of the master of the house. They also found Mistress Elise, the previous drow lord they had captured, dead and mutilated on a table in one of the torture rooms. The group, amply disgusted with their quarry, opted to coordinate their break-in with Waters, who started the engagement by shooting at the assembled men from inside an aquarium, emptying its contents into the room. The group broke in and further bedlam ensued as Yahtuh set men ablaze, Ten Tongues released a swarm of mad hornets, and Svanen commanded his men to cast spells to drop the light in the room to the level of supernatural darkness. Though the opposition was adept at fighting in the dark, the group ultimately managed to kill the abductors, and after an almost comical mishap involving Lexington's gun, shot down the Drow lord. Lexington, recovering from poisons, thanked the group for their intervention and agreed to help them deliver on their promise to Adama. Adama, in turn, revealed himself to the group (with Yuri's assistance) by apparently possessing a skeleton hidden in Kotlovo, and informed the group that the bastion of the elves' strength in Snezhny was a location known as "Gray Peak", a secretive military base in the far north. He also revealed that he was familiar with some elven soldiers, and asked the party if they knew a "Leonid". They suspected that Piano Jack may have been the man in question, and so summoned the ever-dedicated Kamome to deliver a letter on Adama's behalf to the traveling musician. Thus, the party resumed their investigation into Kotlovo, hoping that little by little, they would be able to bring peace to the sundered land... The rewards for last game are as follows: *6000 exp each for the elimination of Svanen and co. *7000 gold in coins, gems, artifacts, and mundane equipment. *3 additional doses of drow sleeping poison - TT *2 doses of an ingested hallucinogenic compound, Save DC 19, which can cause Confusion to a target for 1d6 minutes after 1 hour (this was what Lexington was under) - TT *+1 keen rapier - sold *+1 keen kukri - sold *+2 full plate mail - sold *Inquisitor's Monocle - Lin *Caltrop Boots - Lin *Pauldrons of the Watchful Lion - Yahtuh Party share: 3381.8gp Raven's Share: 4611.5gp *The Lordly Raven unlocks an upgrade. Marksman Soul: Called shot penalties reduced by 50% (rounded up) within 60 feet. Once per day, ignore cover or concealment as per Improved Precise Shot. In addition to the scope, a set of angled rail sights along the side of the Lordly Raven provide an alternative means of placing trickier shots.